DEFENCE

The Indian Air Force is activating civil airfield of Jolly Grant airport in Dehradun. A detachment of two Sukhoi (Su-30 MKI) aircraft will operate from the airport for two days – February 19 and... More

The China State Shipbuilding Corporation (CSSC) launched the third Shadhinota-class C13B corvette for the Bangladesh Navy on 12 February 2018, the Chinese media reported.
According to the Sina, the Bangladesh Navy took delivery of its... More

Joint naval training between the Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF) and the visiting Pakistani Navy continue in the Persian Gulf, the latest expression of the special relationship between the Kingdom and arguably its closest... More

Pakistan is developing new types of nuclear weapons, including short-range tactical ones, that bring more risks to the region, America's intelligence chief warned on Tuesday (Feb 13).
Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats' remarks came... More

Russian authorities have demanded over $20 million for rectifying the damage suffered by nuclear submarine INS Chakra, which was dry-docked last week, even as the government is seeking to fix responsibility for the accident.
Defence... More

bmarineA Chinese newspaper has gleefully dismissed India’s navy as “too amateurish” to operate nuclear submarines after the pride of its fleet was put out of service because someone had left a hatch door open.
The... More

The joint naval exercises between the Pakistan Navy and Royal Saudi Naval Forces (RSNF), Naseem Al-Bahr-11 and Deraa Al Sahil-4, commenced on Sunday (Feb 11) in the Arabian Gulf at the East Fleet at... More

Boeing is assessing Indian defence and aerospace companies to select industrial partners in support of its bid to supply its F/A-18E/F Block III Super Hornet fighter aircraft to the Indian Navy (IN), Gene Cunningham,... More

China is developing sea-based anti-missile systems and plans to deploy them in the Asia-Pacific and Indian Ocean, according to military experts.
The assessment came as Beijing announced it had carried out a successful test of... More

India’s Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) Tejas is in news again as the United States' Air Force Chief General David L Goldfein flew a sortie from Jodhpur Air Force base on February 3. Goldfein's French... More

The Narendra Modi-led government of India has refused to divulge the cost-per-unit of the 36 Rafale fighter jets it is buying from France. When attacked by the opposition over the allegedly "exorbitant" outlay for... More

Russia will deliver to Myanmar an additional batch of six Yak-130 combat training aircraft, Mikhail Petukhov, a deputy director of Russia's Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation (FSMTC), told Sputnik.
"In December 2016, a contract was... More

Eighteen months after an extension was granted by the Defence Acquisition Council for Project P-75 (I), which involves the construction of six diesel-electric submarines at a cost of $10.9 billion, neither an Indian shipyard... More

"Ukraine has strengthened its positions and expanded possibilities for repairing military equipment of Soviet production on the markets of third countries", – this is how representatives of the State Firm “Ukrinmash” commented on the... More

India’s Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) has carried out the first flight of a Light Combat Helicopter (LCH) using an indigenously developed Automatic Flight Control System (AFCS), the state-owned aerospace and defence company announced in... More

The Indian Navy has commissioned the nation’s third homemade diesel-electric Scorpene submarine. The Karanj was launched with much fanfare on Wednesday at the Mazagon shipyard in Mumbai.
The Indian Navy announced a US$3-billion deal in... More

On Jan. 26, India celebrated Republic Day by parading troops and locally made weapons in front of New Delhi’s colonial-era sandstone buildings and past 10 Southeast Asian heads of state -- all potential buyers.
New... More

With the US delaying supply of spare parts to Pakistan for its F-16 fleet, the Pakistan Air Force has geared up efforts to commence development of a fifth-generation JF-17 fighter jet under the banner... More

The co-development and production of the Sukhoi/HAL Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), also known in India as the Perspective Multi-role Fighter (PMF), one of the most high profile joint Indo-Russian defense projects remains stuck... More

As the relationship between the United States and Pakistan continues to deteriorate, signs of a formidable axis in Central Asia emerges.
In an interview with the Financial Times published Sunday (Jan 28), Pakistan's defense minister... More

On Feb 13 at about 1210 hours an armoured cash-in-transit (CIT) vehicle of a private security services company was parked outside the Tarnol branch of Meezan Bank in Islamabad to pick up cash amounting to Rs. 14 million from the bank . As the two security guards, Supervisor Muhammad... More

The Oxfam infection has spread far and wide. Its impact is deeper than just one NGO facing problems about covering up sex abuse in Haiti and as we learn Chad as well. Now reports are saying that sexual abuse cases are routine in the international development world which till... More

Despite its reservations about the Abdulla Yameen regime in the Maldives, India does not appear to be responding to the call of the Maldivian opposition leader Mohamed Nasheed to initiate a “military-backed diplomatic initiative” to force Yameen to retract from his drastic actions against the judiciary.
According to the Maldivian... More

While the US continues to do drone attacks in Pakistan, the diplomat spat between them hasn’t ended. On the contrary it seems to be widening as Pakistan continues its drift away from the US towards China and Russia.
The gap is undoubtedly widening between the two erstwhile allies. While the... More

Sentencing BNP chief Begum Khaleda Zia to 5 years in jail triggers a fresh confrontational phase in Bangladesh politics, already deluged by hostility. It also makes the election, scheduled for December 2018, considerably uncertain about inclusive participation. Bangladesh’s experience with electoral politics has been miserable since birth and with... More

Dhaka, the capital of Bangladesh, exudes confidence. I visited Dhaka for the first time in April 1972, within four months of the birth of Bangladesh. Dhaka, then pronounced Dacca, was a small town, desperately trying to accommodate the demands of a sovereign state. There is no doubt that the... More

The West’s notions of history and geography between Europe and Asia, are drenched in myriad cultural implications and can be traced back to ‘The Romance of Alexander’.
This is a collection of essays mixing truth, epic drama and mythology, composed between the death of Alexander The Great in 323 B.C.,... More

Referred to as an interminable and protracted war, the ongoing US-led war in Afghanistan is becoming a stalemate with no end in sight in the near or long term. Since the violence and bloodshed have been the most common phenomenon in an already war-torn region, the war is perhaps... More

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has announced an aggressive reachout to farmers and the poor in the new Budget, but analysts say it remains to be seen if this course correction will work.
They say it hinges on whether the government will be able to implement the schemes. It also... More

Just a few days ago I warned two young student leaders in Darjeeling of West Bengal, against the violent movement which has started there for a separate Gorkhaland. I told them in no way should they support this demand. This has multifarious geo-political risks. If a Gorkhaland state is... More

South Asian Monitor is a flagship organization of Media Watch. It monitors political, economic, cultural, social and strategic developments of the South Asian region. Prominent writers, columnists, media persons and analysts of South Asia contribute in-depth reports, analyses, features and columns here ... More